Discussions

The 9INE Discussion Guide was written and produced by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

 

This is an online, interactive version of the 9INE Discussion Guide. Use these discussion questions as stepping off points to engage young adults in conversation about the themes in 9INE. Each link outlines a set of questions from the 9INE Discussion Guide. Please let us know your opinion, leave a comment after you watch an episode! Teachers can utilize these questions for homework or computer lab assignments. Choose a question and have students answer in the comments field on the discussion question page, where you can easily track responses.

 

See suggestions from Andrea Marshall, High School Instructor, on how to use the 9INE Discussion Guide in class: Sample Lesson Plan

 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR EPISODE 1 – SEPTEMBER

 

1. What have we learned about the characters in 9INE so far?
2. Do you think Lonnie’s a virgin? Do you think Tye is a virgin? Does it matter?
3. Do all of your friends know your sexual status? How do you choose who to share that kind of information with?
4. Is it embarrassing for guys to admit they’re virgins? Is it embarrassing for girls?
5. Did you know that more than half of teenagers are virgins? It’s true. About 43% of boys ages 15-19, and 42% of girls have had sex. What do you think of this statistic?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR EPISODE 2 – OCTOBER

Since last time…
Lonnie and Tye have obviously started having sex and now Tye’s period is late. When she tells him, he says they “only did it a couple of times.” This conversation also means they’ve probably had un- protected sex too, even though we know from the first episode that Lonnie had condoms in his bedroom.

1. What do you think Lonnie meant when he said that he and Tye had only done it a couple of times? Does pregnancy have the same impact on the boy’s life as it does on the girl’s?
2. What do you think of Tye’s reaction to what Lonnie said? How do you think his response made her feel?
3. How do you think Lonnie told his mom about the pregnancy? How do you think he felt when she started crying?
4. Why do you think Tye can’t tell her mom directly?
5. How would you tell your parents? How do you think they would react?
6. Can you imagine telling someone you might be pregnant or hearing from someone that you may have gotten her pregnant?
7. Is it embarrassing to bring up the topic of protection with someone? Whose responsibility is it to bring it up?
8. Do you think anyone has ever talked to Tye or Lonnie about preventing pregnancy?
9. In the interview at the end of the episode, a teen boy talks about how he got someone pregnant at age 13. How do you think his life would have changed if he had become a father then?
10. What do you think the conversation was like in the car when Lonnie, Tye, and her dad were on their way to the health clinic?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR EPISODE 3 – NOVEMBER

Since last time…
Lonnie and Tye have had more conversations within their own families about the pregnancy.

1. Do most teens feel comfortable talking to their doctors or other health care professionals about sex and pregnancy?
2. One of the things the doctor tells Tye is that about one-third of all girls in the U.S. get pregnant as teenagers. Did that number surprise you?
3. Lonnie’s friend tells him he has no options: “She makes the decision [to keep the baby] on her own but she didn’t get pregnant on her own.” What do you think about that?
4. Lonnie’s friend also suggests that Lonnie check out a teen dad support group, and the episode ends with him at a meeting. How do you think he felt in that room?
5. Do you know where to get contraceptive services in your area?
6. In the interview at the end of the episode, one girl said she knew of girls who got pregnant in order to keep their boyfriends. Do you think she was talking about herself?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR EPISODE 4 – DECEMBER

Since last time…
Tye and Lonnie are happily, playfully joking about her maternity pants at the beginning of the episode.
Tye tells Lonnie that her parents have decided to take her out of school until a year after the baby is born.

1. What did you think of the meeting between Tye’s parents and Lonnie’s mom?
2. Does Tye’s mom have a right to assume that Lonnie isn’t going to step up and be a father?
3. Did you know that 8 out of 10 dads don’t marry the mother of their baby and most couples don’t stay together at all? Does that surprise you?
4. Did you know that U.S. law requires schools to give all students (including pregnant and parenting students) the same access to school programs and activities that other students have?
5. What does “stepping up” look like? How can a teenage boy be a good father?
6. In the interview at the end of the episode a teen girl says that if you have a child then your life is over. Do you agree?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR EPISODE 5 – JANUARY

Since last time…
This episode opens with Lonnie snapping at his sister and Lonnie’s mother basically calling Tye a “skank.”
Tye is at the county medical center signing up for birth classes, so she’s obviously aware that she’s getting closer to the end of her pregnancy (she’s probably about half way through) and her belly is showing prominently now.

1. What did you think about Tye’s mom’s comment that “mature boys can wait” for sex? What do you think she means by that?
2. Do you think teen parents are treated more favorably than other teenagers?
3. Tye and her mom have a strained relationship and now that Tye is pregnant she seems very affected by her parents’ decision not to have more children after she was born. Why do you think she is so concerned with this?
4. When Tye wonders if her baby will change things at their house, her dad says it already has. What do you think Tye meant by her comment?
5. In the interview at the end of the episode, a teen boy talks about the financial hardships of having a child. What is he most upset about?
   

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR EPISODE 6 – FEBRUARY

Since last time…
Tye knows she’s having a girl now, though she hasn’t told Lonnie yet, because she thinks he’ll be disappointed and leave her.
Lonnie decided he needs to talk to Tye’s father about his intentions.

1. When Lonnie said to Tye’s dad he was going to go to school, work hard, and do the right thing, he also said he would need the proper guidance. His own father isn’t in the picture—where do you think Lonnie is going to get this guidance?
2. Were you surprised when Tye’s dad confronted him about whether he was “doing the right thing” when he had Tye “take her clothes off?”
3. Were you surprised by what Tye’s mom said to Lonnie? Was it appropriate or out of line?
4. Why do you think plans to use protection suddenly get thrown out the window?
5. Which is a more compelling reason to use condoms—protection from infection or prevention of pregnancy? Why is that?
6. One of the guys in the group suggests that birth control should be the girl’s responsibility. Who decides whose responsibility it is?
7. Why would someone want to get pregnant or get someone pregnant as a teenager?
8. In the interview at the end of the episode, there is a young father trying to get his daughter to sit still. What did you think of that scene?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR EPISODE 7 – MARCH

Since last time…
This episode begins with Tye and her mom arguing pretty loudly. It seems like things between them haven’t been going too well.

1. Tye’s dad reminds her mom that they need to pull it together and remain calm to help Tye have a smooth pregnancy and a healthy delivery. What could help her have an easier time?
2. Do you think Tye got pregnant in order to save her parents’ marriage? Is it right to expect a baby to fix anything for anyone?
3. Do you agree with Lonnie’s mom that he needs to focus on school rather than get a job?
4. Do most of the guys you know show respect for the girls and women in their lives (including their moms and sisters)?
5. What are some examples of ways people can be more respectful in their relationships?
6. What did you think of Lonnie’s realization that by the time he’s 30 he will have spent more than half his life being responsible for somebody else?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR EPISODE 8 – APRIL

Since last time…
It appears that things have gotten a little complicated with Tye’s pregnancy because she’s in the hospital with false labor and everyone is talking about the possibilities of C-section, premature birth, bed rest, and a potentially dangerous condition called preeclampsia (which is when there is high blood pressure, among other things, during pregnancy).Things seem more strained between Tye and Lonnie now that they did before. He’s distracted by his phone when they are hanging out together on her porch, instead of giving her his undivided attention like he did before.

1. What are some other issues that might affect the children of teen moms disproportionately?
2. What did you think about Lonnie’s comment to Tye that “nobody said you had to keep it?” Was that appropriate?
3. Were you surprised when the support group leader said he got involved with teen fathers as a way to re-direct his own anger about his younger sister’s teen pregnancy?
4. How do you think society sees teen dads? Are the expectations and assumptions about teen mothers different?
5. What happened to Lonnie’s talk about being there and doing the right thing? Or do you think he sees military service as doing the right thing?
6. When it comes to sex and pregnancy, what are some ways people fall short of keeping their word?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR EPISODE 9 – MAY

Since last time…
Tye’s father is the one who calls Lonnie to tell him she’s in labor.
Lonnie is the only person Tye wants in the room with her as she’s having the baby. Seems things may have improved since the porch incident in the previous episode.

1. Lonnie looked pretty terrified during the delivery scene. What do you think he was thinking and feeling?
2. What do you think Tye’s and Lonnie’s parents were thinking while they were sitting in the hallway of the hospital waiting for the birth?
3. In the final scene Lonnie seems very comfortable and loving with his daughter. Did that surprise you? Does nine months seem like a lot of time?
4. If the Lonnie at the end of the show could go back in time and talk to himself in the first episode, what do you think he would say?
5. Leona Tyson Goodall is the baby’s name—were you surprised she has Tye’s last name instead of Lonnie’s?
6. What did you think about the way this series focused on Lonnie just as much as it focused on Tye?
7. Where do you think Lonnie, Tye, and Leona are going to be a year from now?

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